Staff Photo - What do you think?
Staff Photo - What do you think?
As for TV: the only chance I have of being on TV will be in the main event or in random editing. The main event starts airing the first Tuesday in September. I’ll try to get some video on here if I every see or find it.
Cheers.
Just a quick post to close out the World Series of Poker entries of the past few weeks here.
For those who have not followed, if you go back to my earliest posts (using the calendar to the right – June 26 or so – or the drop down – or going to the bottom and going to “previous entries”), I posted leading up to the World Series of Poker as well as many of my experiences during the few weeks I was out there playing in some events.
Some good winning both nothing huge.
I played very well and am excited about how far my game has come in the past year.
As I said last year, I hope to win my way in again next year and try once again; if time allows it may become an annual trip as long as I can win my way in so I don’t have to pay the full entry fee.
I will use this blog for updates on poker as well as other travels I take from time to time.
Take care, all.
Howard
For those of you who have not seen earlier posts…. I wrote about my World Series of Poker background and experiences here earlier. Feel free to scroll down and look at earlier pages for all of that info. This post is just a few pictures from the Venetian…. which has one of the better poker rooms in town.
I visited the Wynn last night for the first time ever and that place is absolutely amazing. I hung out with my friend Amos who is a performer in the Cuirque-du-Soliel-like show there. He finished up and we shared a beer and caught up.
I’m going to rent a car today and get away from the Strip a bit. It can be overkill.
I hope all is well. All the pictures below are of the Venetian:
The Lobby and main entrance-way
The Poker Room at the Venetian
The Poker Room
Looking up from another lobby area
The Canals. Yes..... they really do have this in Vegas. ummm..... yeah. I know.
The Venetian from the outside
I played the way I needed. Pushed all-in with A-J after the very aggressive guy raised. I had to hope he didn’t have me beat (reasonable assumption) and no one left to act would call. Turned out a woman with 99 re-raised me. The original raiser foled. We flipped out our cards. I was ok with to over cards to a middle pair. I had about 45% chance… I assummed I’d be in that position a few times today. Unfortunately thr flop brought a 3rd 9… No improvement after that and I’m out.
Overall I feel I played very well but the cards just weren’t with me. Cashing in the earlier event was accomplishment enough for this year.
I would head out of here, but my buddy Erick is coming out day after tomorrow so we’ll hang for a few days and catch the run down to the final table.
Here we go. The way I need to play may result in quick elimination but I have to get aggressive to have any possibility of making it.
Here we go.
I’m sorry to all for being missing in action the past few days. I’ve been having fun, partying a bit, playing cards, recovering, and doing some work. I also lost my camera with all of those pictures on it. But luckily it was turned into lost and found.
Day 2 is tomorrow and I posted earlier on how I’ll be on chips. Let’s hope for some great luck, timing, and moves. We’ll see, we’ll see.
I wanted to post now to get a few pictures up. Then I’m rushing to the pool to get the last hour of sunlight before it goes behind the hotel (too hot / bright to be out there mid day).
Wayne Newton opening the show (press the little play triangle icon to see the video. May take a bit to download depending on connection speeds; if it’s jumpy, press pause until the little red download meter shows that it is fully downloaded, then hit play).
Wayne Newton Opening Day 1 of the 2008 WSOP
Dan Harrington
The Main Event Room (just part of it)
Quad Aces beat by a Royal Flush. What a way to go out!
The Man with the Royal Flush
Ummmm.... I\
Ray Ramano at our table
Ray Ramano and the ending table at the end of Day 1
Samir and I on top Ghost Bar
The poolside bar view at the Rio
Just a quick note: I’m poolside (105 degrees) for some late afternoonsun, nursing a bangover, sipping a pina colada. I’ll try to post those pics later.
Happy 4th of July to everyone!!
Read level 4 below if u haven’t yet.
Playing poker in a tournament when you are short on chips is a difficult and unpleasant place to be. There’s a calculation called “cost per round” which is the amount of chips you will lose each time play goes around the table once. Early on it’s just the big and small blind. Later antes also kick in so it the big plus small blinds plus the ante per person time the number of people at the table. The cost per round is also the amount in the pot before anyone begins betting.
When u have less than 15-20 times that amount is where things start to get a bit difficult. Less than 10 times that amount and things get very difficult.
I was at 6 times that amount going into level 6. I doubled up once but at the end of the round I’m only at 9,600 in chips which will be exactly 8 times the cost per round going into day 2. It will be 250/500 blinds, 50 ante and 9 people at a table.
This is not where I wanted to be but surviving the firsy day is a good thing in general. 1,250 or 1,300 people played today and 650 or so were remaining.
Let’s hope day 2 treats me well.
In the tournament I cashed in, I was down to only 3Xs the cost per round but still fought back to cash. As someone termed once, all you need is a chip and a chair. There was someone one time down to only a single chip who came back to win the entire tournament.
Day two is next Tuesday. The next three days are other day 1s (about 1/4 or more of the field each day) then one day off when they hold the employees tournament (employees are not allowed in any normal tournament).
It’s going to be an intense first few hours and I’ll have to make some aggressive move in hope of getting out of this range. Sitting back and waiting for great cards in this position equates to a fast death as the blinds and antes eat you alive.
No I’m off to…. Who knows what.
Later.
I have to make this pot quick… Plus I’m mad as all get out.
So shortly after level 4 started, Ray Ramano (of the hit TV show Everybody Love Raymond) sat down at our table and has been there ever since. Very entertaining.
A few hands later one of the most amazing hands I’ve ever seen: quad aces (AAAA) LOST on out table to the Royal Flush – the best hand in poker. No doubt that will hot the news wires, blogs, and whatever poker centered news sites are out there. Truly a once in a life time chance to see. And the winner was in day 1, table 1, seat 1, and his 1st royal flush ever. Four 1s. Beating AAAA (1111).
Later I hit an A on the flop when I had AK. The flop was all diamonds so I could worry about the other guy having a flush but the odds of a flush on the flop are VERY remote. But it happened… And I lost a great deal on it. Only have 6K on chips now.
Very bad.
I’ll see what I can do about it.
I’m at dinner at Hamada’s having all you can eat sushi (and edamame and miso soup). Not stuffing myself but it was still a good deal.
Level 3 went well – and lucky. I was back up and down on either side of 20k. I was down to about 17 or so when the hand below came up.
I felt like it was time to tighten up(get more conservative) but kept getting hands that were just barely playable. The last time was it for now and it’s definitely time to tighten up and stop bluffing. Some one limped in before me (just called the big blind). I had K-10 hearts and ecided to see what happened. No one raised. 4 players. The flop came with Q-7-3 all diamonds. The limper checked to me and I bet, hoping he would just fold. Other folded but he called. The turn was nothing. He checked again. I bet again. He called again. “SHIT!” I thought. What does this guy have? The A of diamonds and he’s hoping for another? Very possibly. A pair? Doubtful but maybe. A set (3 of a kind)? No way… He would have bet in case I was on a flsh draw. The river brought a king. Now I have top pair. He checked again. If he has a flush from the flop, I’m going to lose more. If he has a pair, I’m going to win. If he was on a flush draw, he’ll fold to any bet. Maybe I should jut check. Instead I bet about 1/3 of the pot… I’m in for about 4,000 now. He calls! Not what I expected but hopefully I just won on the river. I show my king and he mucks (throws he cards away without showing). That took me back up to about 24′ where I am now.
Time to pay up and head back. Two more levels tonight….probably to about 1:15am.
I’m at dinner at Hamada’s having all you can eat sushi (and edamame and miso soup). Not stuffing myself but it was still a good deal.
Level 3 went well – and lucky. I was back up and down on either side of 20k. I was down to about 17 or so when the hand below came up.
I felt like it was time to tighten up(get more conservative) but kept getting hands that were just barely playable. The last time was it for now and it’s definitely time to tighten up and stop bluffing. Some one limped in before me (just called the big blind). I had K-10 hearts and ecided to see what happened. No one raised. 4 players. The flop came with Q-7-3 all diamonds. The limper checked to me and I bet, hoping he would just fold. Other folded but he called. The turn was nothing. He checked again. I bet again. He called again. “SHIT!” I thought. What does this guy have? The A of diamonds and he’s hoping for another? Very possibly. A pair? Doubtful but maybe. A set (3 of a kind)? No way… He would have bet in case I was on a flsh draw. The river brought a king. Now I have top pair. He checked again. If he has a flush from the flop, I’m going to lose more. If he has a pair, I’m going to win. If he was on a flush draw, he’ll fold to any bet. Maybe I should jut check. Instead I bet about 1/3 of the pot… I’m in for about 4,000 now. He calls! Not what I expected but hopefully I just won on the river. I show my king and he mucks (throws he cards away without showing). That took me back up to about 24′ where I am now.
Time to pay up and head back. Two more levels tonight….probably to about 1:15am.
I’m at dinner at Hamada’s having all you can eat sushi (and edamame and miso soup). Not stuffing myself but it was still a good deal.
Level 3 went well – and lucky. I was back up and down on either side of 20k. I was down to about 17 or so when the hand below came up.
I felt like it was time to tighten up(get more conservative) but kept getting hands that were just barely playable. The last time was it for now and it’s definitely time to tighten up and stop bluffing. Some one limped in before me (just called the big blind). I had K-10 hearts and ecided to see what happened. No one raised. 4 players. The flop came with Q-7-3 all diamonds. The limper checked to me and I bet, hoping he would just fold. Other folded but he called. The turn was nothing. He checked again. I bet again. He called again. “SHIT!” I thought. What does this guy have? The A of diamonds and he’s hoping for another? Very possibly. A pair? Doubtful but maybe. A set (3 of a kind)? No way… He would have bet in case I was on a flsh draw. The river brought a king. Now I have top pair. He checked again. If he has a flush from the flop, I’m going to lose more. If he has a pair, I’m going to win. If he was on a flush draw, he’ll fold to any bet. Maybe I should jut check. Instead I bet about 1/3 of the pot… I’m in for about 4,000 now. He calls! Not what I expected but hopefully I just won on the river. I show my king and he mucks (throws he cards away without showing). That took me back up to about 24′ where I am now.
Time to pay up and head back. Two more levels tonight….probably to about 1:15am.
4 hours of play completed and not a great deal to report. Continued active play… I’m down a bit at about 19k in chips now. I’m going to make reservations for sushi dinner again, I think.
Another entertaining bit: one table over is a guy in full wizard gear including long shite hair and beard like Gandolf from Ord of the Rings. There’s no flash photograhy here so clear pictures are hard without a tripod but I got one I’ll post later.
Back to it….
2 hours have passed. My table is noticeably active for so early in such a slow structured event. I’ve been getting cards good enough to play for such an active table and things are going fine. The 20k in chips went up slightly, then down to about 18.5k but now I’m back up to about 21 or 22k. I’ve been playing enough hands that I probably need to tighten up slightly and avoid any bluffing. Observant opponents likely think I’ve bluffed a few times based on my betting frequency. I have a pretty good read at the people at my table (I think) so we’ll see how things go.
On entertaining notes, they opened the event with Wayne Newton coming in with an entourage of ladies in marjorette like outfits, then same in a marching band doing Viva Las Vegas. Wayne announced the “shuffle up and deal!” Which is analygous to boxing’s “Lwtks get ready to rumble!”. I caught it on video with my camera and will see if I can post that later tonight.
Gotta run play some poker now.
Greetings all. My apologies for the post from two days ago that said I would be starting the main event yesterday. I was a day off and I start the main event today (in one hour, so I have to make this a quick one).
I took it easy the rest of Tuesday but played one smaller tournament but didn’t cash. Wednesday I slept late, had a healthy lunch then hung out at the pool for a few hours. In the evening I went and played some high stakes cash game from about 5 hours and made about $1,500. I had a long night sleep last night and am now going to grab coffee, a light bite, and start the Main Event.
The Main Event is the deepest stack and slowest structured event there is (I think). You start with 20,000 in chips and the blinds are only 50/100 to start. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, just ignore this part. The levels are 2 hours each. So there’s lots of time to just sit back and play tight and wait for good cards but many people take the opposite approach and play lots of pots for cheap looking to hit a great hand with two pair or a set or a straight, etc while hoping someone else has AA or KK and just can’t let it go. In this case they may double up. I’m going to figure out my strategy based on the table or tables I end up playing on.
I’ll try to post some quick updates throughout the day. Let’s hope for good cards and I’ll see if I can play them well. I mainly want to slowly build my stack and just make it through today and my day 2 without being too low on chips. The end of day two and into day three is where the real action play will start, I’m thinking. We’ll just have to see.
I’m off!
